Beverage and food carrier

ABSTRACT

A two-piece collapsible carrier for food and beverages. The lower carrier has a bottom and four side walls particularly adapted to carrier beverages in different sized containers. The side walls have uppermost edges higher than the tallest beverage containers to be normally carried. An upper food top having a bottom and side walls is carried over said lower carrier with the bottom of said upper tray resting on the uppermost edges of said lower carrier so that in normal use, the attitudes of the tray and beverage carrier remain the same.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/219,079, filed Aug. 14, 2002 which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/893,361 filed on Jun. 26, 2001, now U.S. Pat.No. 6,443,308, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/214,267 filed Jun. 26, 2000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments of this invention relate to inexpensive,disposable carriers for beverages, food and other items.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prior art includes a number of patents that show carriers for foodand beverages. Representative prior art carriers are described in theHunter U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,738,217 and 5,927,502. Although the carriersdescribed in these patents are improvements over other carriers, theHunter carriers have several significant deficiencies. Thus, cups ofvarious sizes are not easily carried since the Hunter carriers are notdesigned to carry beverage containers of various sizes and shapes. TheHunter carriers are bottomless so that the beverage cups necessarilytouch the stadium ground or floor when the carrier is placed on theground or floor. And, the Hunter carriers do not insure that theattitude of the food tray remains horizontal. Rather, upward movement ofthe beverage cups tend to tilt the tray, especially if cups of differentsizes are used or the cups are not uniformly distributed in the carrier.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments of this invention provide an inexpensivebeverage and food carrier having a wide variety of uses. One particularuse is in ballparks or stadium to carry food from a food and drink standto one's seat. A particular feature of this preferred embodiment is thatbeverage containers of different sizes may be conveniently carried.Thus, the preferred embodiments include a two-piece carrier, formed fromonly two pieces of cardboard, a lower carrier having a carrying handleand an upper tray for food and like items.

The beverage containers rest upon a bottom provided by four interlockingcardboard flaps. These beverage cups and containers, be they foam,paper, plastic, round, square or otherwise, are thus protected by thecarrier bottom from touching the stadium floor. The upper food trayslides over the handle and rests upon the top edges of the side wallsforming the lower container.

In the preferred embodiments, the side walls extend upwardly from thecontainer floor higher than the height of the beverage containers, withtheir top edges supporting the bottom of the food tray. As a result, theattitude of tray is maintained parallel to the beverage carrier.

Another significant advantage of carriers constructed in accordance withthe preferred embodiments of this invention is that the carrier asconstructed is collapsed for convenient shipping and storing and quicklyand easily assembled at the ballpark or football stadium. The collapsedcarrier is advantageously only five times the thickness of the sheet ofcut material used to form the carrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the lower beverage carrier of oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the lower beverage carrier shown withbeverage containers placed within the carrier;

FIG. 2 is a first side elevation view of the lower beverage carrier;

FIG. 3 is a second side elevational view of the beverage carrier;

FIG. 4 is a third side elevational view of the beverage carrier;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the beverage carrier;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the beverage carrier;

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the upper food tray;

FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of the food tray;

FIG. 9 is a first side elevational view of the food tray;

FIG. 10 is a second elevational view of the food tray;

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the food tray;

FIG. 12 is a top view of the food tray;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the upper food tray mounted on itslower beverage carrier;

FIG. 14 is an elevational view of the cardboard sheet cut to form thelower beverage carrier;

FIG. 15 is an elevational view of the cardboard sheet cut to form theupper food tray;

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view showing the upper food tray mountedon the lower beverage carrier;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the lower beverage carrier in itsmanufactured collapsed state;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the upper food tray in its manufacturedcollapsed state;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the lower beverage carrier of anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is another perspective view of the lower beverage carrier of theembodiment of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing the embodiment of FIGS. 19 and 20mounting an upper food tray;

FIG. 22 is an elevational view of the cardboard sheet cut to form thelower beverage carrier of FIGS. 19-21;

FIG. 23 is an elevational view of the cardboard sheet cut to form theupper food tray of FIG. 21;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the lower beverage carrier of stillanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is another perspective view of the lower beverage carrier of theembodiment of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a bottom view of the beverage carrier of FIGS. 24 and 25;

FIG. 27 is an elevational view of the cardboard sheet cut to form thelower beverage carrier of FIGS. 24-26; and

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the lower beverage carrier supportingan upper food box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

One preferred embodiment of the food and drink carrier constructed inaccordance with this invention is shown in FIG. 13 and includes a lowerbeverage carrier 25 for holding paper or plastic cups or othercontainers of beverage and an upper food tray 30 supported on theuppermost edges of the outside walls. In the embodiment shown in thefigures, the lower carrier has, as best seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, fourcompartment pockets 35 in which, depending upon their diameter, four ormore cups 40 or other containers (see FIG. 1B) can be carried.

A feature of this invention is that the lower carrier is adapted tocarry any shape or configuration of beverage container normally sold inball parks and stadiums. Further, although the embodiment shown providesfour pockets 35, it will be apparent that the bottom carrier can beconstructed to have fewer or greater number of pockets.

As discussed below and as shown in FIGS. 1B and 16, the uppermost edgesof the side walls 45, 46, 47, 48 of container 25 are, in the preferredembodiment, higher than the tallest cup 40 that will be normally placedwithin the container 25.

The beverage carrier 25 advantageously includes a bottom floor 49 undereach of the pockets 35. This floor is provided by four interlockingbottom flaps.

The lower beverage carrier further includes an integral flat, generallyrectangular handle 50 advantageously formed by two thickness of the samecardboard or other sheet material used to construct the lower carrier25. An elongate opening 55 allows some of the fingers of one hand topass through this opening 55 to more easily carry the beverage and foodcontainer.

The upper food tray 30, best shown in FIGS. 7 and 13, has a base orbottom 60 that is advantageously larger than the area circumscribed bythe side walls 45, 46, 47 and 48 of lower carrier 25. The bottom of foodtray 30 includes an elongated slot 61 whose dimensions are somewhatlarger than the cross-section of handle 50. As shown in FIG. 13, afterthe beverage cups are placed within the pockets 35, the tray 30 is sliddown over the handle 50.

A significant feature of the preferred embodiments of this invention isthat the upper food tray 30 is slid down over handle 50 until it restson the uppermost top edges of the side walls 45, 46, 47 and 48 (seeFIGS. 13 and 16). In this manner, the attitude of tray 30 is maintainedhorizontal with respect to the beverage carrier 25 and is not affectedby the height, distribution or quantity of the beverage cups placed inthe pockets 35. Moreover, in the preferred embodiments, the bottoms ofthe beverage cups advantageously rest on the floor 49 of the lowerbeverage container. As a result, placing a filled carrier 25 on thefloor or seat of a stadium has no effect on the positions of either thebeverage containers 40 inside the pockets 35 or the attitude of the tray30.

Advantageously, the lower beverage carrier 25 and upper food tray 30 areeach cut from a single sheet of suitable cardboard. See FIGS. 14 and 15,wherein solid inner lines indicate cut slits in the cardboard sheet anddotted lines indicate creases formed in the cardboard. In the followinginstructions, the interior faces of each of the side walls of the lowerand upper carriers face upwardly in FIGS. 14 and 15. By way of specificexample, carriers have been constructed in accordance with thisinvention in which the outside dimensions of the flat cut cardboard ofFIG. 14 measured 36{fraction (27/36)} inches by 16⅜ inches and theoutside dimensions of the flat cut cardboard of FIG. 15 measured 17inches by 16 inches.

Referring to FIG. 14, the lower beverage carrier 25 is constructed byfolding the sheet of cut cardboard along the dotted lines as follows:With wall section 48 held flat, wall section 45 is folded upwardly alongline 104 to form a crease along line 104. Likewise, pocket dividermember 106 is folded upwardly with respect to section 48 along line 108but is folded downwardly with respect to handle section 110 along line112, leaving creases along lines 108 and 112. Wall section 47 is foldedupwardly with respect to wall section 48 along line 116 to form a creasealong line 116.

Wall section 46 is then held flat and wall section 47 is folded upwardlyalong line 120 with respect to wall section 46 to form a crease alongline 120. Likewise, a second pocket divider member 122 is foldedupwardly with respect to wall section 46 along line 124, but is foldeddownwardly with respect to the second handle section 126 along line 128leaving creases along lines 124 and 128. In addition, end tab 130 isfolded upwardly with respect to section 46 along line 132. The end tab130 is also folded with respect to handle section 126 along line 134such that the end tab portion 138 is raised upwardly with respect tohandle section 126 so that the connector 122 and end tab 130 lie inparallel planes with creases formed along lines 132 and 134.

Attached to wall sections 45, 48, 47 and 46 are respective bottom flaps140, 142, 144 and 146. Each of these flaps are folded upwardly withrespect to wall section 45, 48, and 47 along respective lines 150, 152,154 and 156 to form creases along these lines.

Bottom flap 142 includes a corner tab portion 160 which is foldeddownwardly with respect to the remainder of flap 142 along line 162.Similarly, bottom flap 146 includes a corner tab portion 164 which isalso folded downwardly with respect to the remainder of flap 146 alongline 166 with creases left along lines 162, 166.

The lower container is advantageously manufactured in a collapsedconfiguration as follows: the sections 45, 48, 47 and 46 are foldedalong creases 104, 116, 120 and 124 to form the outside walls of thecontainer. The downwardly facing side of handle section 126 is joined bya suitable glue or adhesive to the upwardly facing side of the handlesection 110 wall. The downwardly facing side of end tab 130 is securedby glue or adhesive to the upwardly facing side of section 45. Theupwardly facing surface of tab 160 is joined by glue or adhesive to thedownwardly facing side of flap 140. The upwardly facing surface of tab164 is joined to the downwardly facing side of flap 144.

A significant feature of the construction of the bottom flaps 140, 142,144 and 146 is that when the carrier is erected into the configurationshown in FIG. 1A, the bottom flaps 140, 142, 144 and 146 overlap to formthe interlocked bottom surface 49 which supports as many filled beveragecontainers as can be placed into the carrier. A particular feature ofthe bottom flaps 140 and 144 is the inclusion of respective notches 170,172. As best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, as the four bottom flaps 140, 142,144 and 146 fold together, the notches 170, 172 are drawn together tointerlock with each other to maintain the carrier in the erected stateshown in FIG. 1A.

The functionality of the foldable carrier is further enhanced by thecreases 150, 152, 154, 156, 162 and 166 which bias the bottom surfaceupward 49 when the carrier is open. As a result, the weight carryingcapacity of the carrier is more than ample for all of the drinks thatcan be held within the carrier.

Another feature shown in FIG. 14, is the wedge shaped portion cut frombottom flaps 140 and 144. The wedge cut from flap 140 leaves awedge-shaped space 167 between the edge 168 of flap 40 and thejuxtaposed edge of tab 160. The small wedge shaped portion cut frombottom flap 144 leaves a wedge shaped space 173 between the edge 169 offlap 144 and the juxtaposed edge of tab 164. These relieved edges 168,169 facilitate manufacturing the lower carrier in the collapsed stateshown in FIG. 17. Thus, edge 168 folds into the crease 104 formedbetween panels 102 and 100 and edge 169 folds into the crease 120between panels 114, 118. The overall thickness of the collapsed beveragecarrier shown in FIG. 17 is substantially only five times the thicknessof the cut sheet material used to form the beverage carrier.

The upper food tray 30 is also advantageously cut from a sheet ofcardboard in the manner shown in FIG. 15. The downwardly facing sides ofend tabs 200, 202, 204 and 206 are respectively glued to the upwardlyfacing sides of foldable portions 210, 212, 214 and 216. As a result,this food tray is easily manufactured in a collapsed state as shown inFIG. 18 but is quickly assembled into the food tray 30. The overallthickness of the collapsed tray shown in FIG. 18 is substantially onlyfive times the thickness of the cut sheet material used to form thetray.

After the beverages are placed within the lower carrier 25, the trayslot 61 is easily slipped over the handle 50 until the tray is supportedby the top edges of the four walls of the lower carrier as shown inFIGS. 13 and 16.

The floor of 60 tray 30 is thus retained horizontal with respect to thefloor 49 of the beverage carrier 25 by the top edges of the side walls45, 46, 47 and 48, so that there is no risk of food spilling out on theground when the lower carrier is set on the ground.

Another preferred embodiment of the food and drink carrier constructedin accordance with this invention is shown in FIGS. 19-23. As shown inthese figures, a series of parallel slot pairs 300, 301; 305, 306; and310, 311 are cut in the bottom half of the panels used to form three ofthe four pockets 35A of the lower beverage carrier 25A. These slotsextend through respective creases 105A, 106A and 12A between adjacentpanels of the lower beverage carrier to form a series of cardboardstraps 315, 316 and 317 serving as cup restraint members to aid inholding beverage containers within the pockets. As shown in FIG. 20,these cardboard straps have been pushed into the pockets of the beveragecontainer to produce an interior wedge or restrain for engaging theexterior walls of the beverage container to hold them upright in thelower beverage carrier 25A.

As shown in FIG. 19, these straps, if not needed, can remain flat withinthe outer walls of the beverage container 25A. Alternatively, just oneor two straps can be pushed into a pocket to aid in restraining beveragecarriers against movement and tipping.

Another feature of the lower beverage carrier shown in FIGS. 19-22 andalso FIGS. 24-27 is an enhanced handle in which panel 110A is formedwith an extra handle flap of cardboard 325 typically one-half incheswide. After the cardboard has been cut as shown in FIG. 22 and folded asshown in FIGS. 19-21, the handle flap 325 is folded upwardly to providean additional thickness of cardboard to provide a stronger handle andmakes carrying the beverage carrier more comfortable.

FIGS. 24-27 illustrate another preferred embodiment of the carrierconstructed in accordance with this invention. As shown in FIGS. 24, 25and 27, an alternate beverage cup restrainer is provided by an invertedtrapezoid 400 cut in the bottom half of two adjacent panels. As shown inFIG. 25, the inverted trapezoid-shaped piece 400 can be folded in oncrease lines 410, 411 to provide a cardboard flap within pocket 415 ofthe beverage carrier to restrain the beverage cup from moving ortipping. Also, as shown in FIG. 24, when flap 410 is not needed torestrain beverage cups, this flap 410 can remain flat within the outerwalls 405, 406 of the beverage carrier.

It will be apparent that additional flaps 410 can be provided by cuttingadditional inverted trapezoid-shaped cuts in other adjacent panels.

FIGS. 26 and 27 illustrate an alternate bottom flap having lockingnotches 450, 451 for firmly locking the base flaps together when thecarrier is assembled for providing additional bottom strength for thecarrier.

FIG. 28 illustrates the lower beverage carrier of the invention carryingan upper food box 500 having an elongated slot 510 in both its bottomand top. Typically, box 500 has a cover which substantially covers thetop of the box and is used for carrying pizzas, although it will beapparent that it can carry many other food products.

The preferred embodiments of beverage and food carriers of the inventionare manufactured from single sheets of cardboard. Suitable cardboardsheets are available in a range of thickness, an exemplary range ofthicknesses being 0.016 to 0.028 inches. Thinner thicknesses arenormally advantageously used for the upper food tray in which lighterloads are normally carried whereas thicknesses of 0.020 to 0.028 aretypically used for the lower beverage carrier for carrying the heavierbeverage containers. Typical kinds of cardboard sheets useful forconstructing the upper and lower carriers including:

-   -   1. Plain Chip or Uncoated;    -   2. Clay coated for enhanced printing of advertising, coupons,        and the like on the surfaces of the containers; and    -   3. Water resistant coated to provide substantial wet strength to        carry spilled and leaking beverage containers.    -   4. By way of specific example, Riverwood International        manufactures such uncoated and coated cardboard sheets under the        respective trademarks Kraftsmaster®, Omni-Kote®, Pearl-Kote® and        Aqua-Kote®.

The food and beverage containers constructed in accordance with thepreferred embodiments of the invention have several significantadvantages including:

1. The container is manufactured and shipped collapsed and quickly andeasily assembled at the ballpark or football stadium. The collapsedcarrier (see e.g. FIGS. 17 and 18) is substantially only five times thethickness of the sheet of cut material used to form the lower carrier.

2. The bottom of the beverage containers 40 carried by the carrier aresupported by the bottom interlocked flaps of the carrier and are notdisturbed when the beverage and food carrier is set on the ground. Thebeverages are thus protected when the carrier is set on the floor orground.

3. The upper and lower portions of the food and drink carrier areinexpensively formed from single sheets of cardboard.

In addition to providing a very simple and inexpensive way tomanufacture in volume a very useful food and beverage carrier, thepreferred embodiments of the invention facilitate the selling ofadvertising space since the advertising copy can be simply printed onthe sheets of FIGS. 14, 15, 22, 23 and 27 before the sheets are cut.Carriers constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiments ofthis invention offer a substantial area on the side walls of both thelower and upper carrier for such printed advertising.

1. A carrier for beverage containers and food, comprising: a lower beverage carrier having a bottom and side walls, said side walls having uppermost edges above the tops of the tallest of said beverage containers; and an upper food carrier having a bottom and side walls, said upper food carrier positioned over the lower beverage carrier with the bottom of said upper food carrier supported by said uppermost edges of said lower carrier.
 2. The carrier of claim 1, wherein said lower carrier is formed from only a single cut sheet of material.
 3. The carrier of claim 2, wherein said lower carrier is manufactured in a collapsed state which is substantially five times the thickness of said sheet of material.
 4. The carrier of claim 1, wherein said lower carrier has a bottom and a plurality of compartments adopted to hold beverage containers of various sizes.
 5. The carrier of claim 1, wherein said lower carrier is formed from a single sheet of cut cardboard and folded to provide said bottom and said side walls.
 6. The carrier of claim 1, wherein said bottom is formed by four interlocking flaps respectively integral with said side walls.
 7. The carrier of claim 6, wherein two of said flaps are notched, said notches being interlocked when said carrier is erected.
 8. The carrier of claim 1, wherein said upper food carrier is formed from a single cut sheet of material and is collapsible to a width of substantially five times the thickness of said sheet.
 9. The carrier of claim 2, wherein said lower carrier has an integral handle formed from two attached layers of said cut sheet.
 10. The carrier of claim 9, wherein said upper food carrier has a slot in the bottom thereof through which said handle is inserted to position said upper food tray over said uppermost edges of said lower carrier.
 11. The carrier of claim 6, wherein two of said bottom flaps are formed with a wedge shaped relief to facilitate erection and collapse of said lower carrier.
 12. The carrier of claim 1, wherein in normal use the attitude of the upper carrier is maintained substantially the same as the attitude of the lower carrier.
 13. The carrier of claim 9, wherein one of said layers includes a flap which is folded over the second of said layers to form an additional thickness for said integral handle.
 14. The carrier of claim 2, wherein said material is a sheet of uncoated cardboard.
 15. The carrier of claim 2, wherein said material is a sheet of coated cardboard.
 16. The carrier of claim 5, wherein said cardboard has a thickness of between 0.020 and 0.028 inches.
 17. The carrier of claim 5, wherein said cardboard has a thickness of between 0.016 and 0.028 inches.
 18. The carrier of claim 1, wherein said upper food carrier is a tray with a substantially open top.
 19. The carrier of claim 1, wherein said upper food carrier is a box having a substantially closable top.
 20. A method of making in a collapsed state, an easily erected carrier of beverage containers having four sides and a bottom comprising: cutting from a single sheet of material four integral carrier sides and four bottom flaps respectively integral with said sides, said carrier sides being taller than the tallest of said beverage containers; folding said cut sheet to form a carrier having four side walls; attaching an end, top and one of said sides to the inside surface of the adjacent side, respectively; attaching tabs on two of said bottom flaps to the underside of adjacent flaps; and interlocking said bottom flaps to provide said carrier bottom.
 21. A method of making in a collapsed state an easily erected carrier having four sides and a bottom comprising: cutting from a single sheet of material four integral carrier sides and four bottom flaps respectively integral with said sides; folding said cut sheet to form a carrier having four side walls; attaching an end, top and one of said sides to the inside surface of the adjacent side, respectively; attaching tabs on two of said bottom flaps to the underside of adjacent flaps; and interlocking said bottom flaps to provide said carrier bottom. 